1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a collapsible boat comprising pivotally interconnected forward and rear sections which can be alternatively pivoted to overlie each other for transport within a vehicle, or pivoted into longitudinal alignment to form a boat configuration.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
A significant number of patents have heretofore been issued on the general concept of forming a combination boat and luggage carrier by pivotally interconnecting a forward section of a boat to a rearward section. When the forward and rear sections are pivoted to their longitudinally aligned configuration, they define a boat. The front section has an upwardly sloped bottom wall while the rear section of the boat carries a relatively heavy rear wall or transom suitable for the mounting of an outboard motor.
Patents illustrating such pivotally interconnected boat sections comprise the following: #2,659,464 to SWEETMAN #3,090,973 to LEVINSON, #3,684,139 to JOHNSON, #4,366,769 to LINGEMAN, #4,671,202 to JOHNSON and #4,478,167 to HART.
All of the aforementioned prior art constructions of pivotally collapible boats have the disadvantage of not effecting a sufficiently rigid securement of the forward and rear boat sections when longitudinally aligned to form the boat configuration to adequately resist the forces imparted to the boat by wave action. The prior art fastening devices have embodied latches, bolts which sealably traverse the rear wall of the forward section and the front wall of the rear section and, in several cases, interconnecting hinge elements secured to the side walls of the front and rear sections which are interengaged by a pivot pin when aligned in the boat configuration. All of these arrangements suffer from the disadvantages that the fastening means generally employ bolts or rivets to secure same to either the side walls or front and rear walls of the boat section and such bolts or rivets gradually work loose and fail under the repeated stresses produced by wave action on the boat.